Your ideas/thoughts on what should to be done to return to healthy economy grow.

[samclem]

That's why they're called rationalizations.

The root is "rational."

 

[Gone4Good]

The root is "rational."

I have no idea what you argued 15 years ago on the topic so this isn't directed at you.

But I do find it extremely disingenuous to see pundits who originally argued in favor of trade on the basis that it raised living standards in all countries to suddenly adopt a "greater good" argument when confronted with evidence that some trade may suppress living standards in already rich nations.

And to compound matters many then selectively use this "greater good" argument for trade but find all manner of reasons why the same logic doesn't hold for immigration policy, tax policy, foreign policy, safety net programs, health care, and on and on.

It smacks loudly of ignoring inconvenient facts to avoid updating cherished prior positions. And that's not something one can reason with.

 

[VFK57]

As we know the economy / country wealth is tied to Geopolitics. I just was reading this interview and not sure if George Friedman is correct in his predictions (including our National Debt). What do you think?
STRATFOR George Friedman predictions for the future - Business Insider

 

[samclem]

It smacks loudly of ignoring inconvenient facts to avoid updating cherished prior positions.

That's a huge problem with macroeconomics in general. With microeconomics it is quite feasible to do controlled experiments and be reasonably sure that the important variables have been controlled. When we talk about national / international economies we can't do simultaneous null and test cases, usually we just have "before" and "after" and lots of arguments (from eminent economists) from preconceived positions about which factors were significant, which factors were causative, etc. Or even about what happened.